Another Jane Doe
by WeWriteAtMidnight
Summary: Jane always believed that everyone was addicted to something. Be it a drug, a lifestyle, a character trait, everyone got their fix off of a certain thing. Before her sister shot herself, Jane always believed that her addiction was to her trade: Writing. She doesn't think that anymore. Not since she met Moriarty, anyway.
1. Chapter 1

Kelly would've been the first to admit that they were desperate. She willed her sister, Jane, to behave as they were ushered into an airy sitting area, silently begged her to stop pulling down her skirt hem, internally pleaded that she not say anything snarky or offensive. If anything went wrong, they were done. It would be back to Canada for the pair of them.

So far, she was doing well. Jane had managed to keep her opinions to herself and was more focused on making her pencil skirt-borrowed from Kelly- as modest as possible, than commenting on how predictable the room's color theme was or noting how cliché the woman they were meeting with was by being slightly late.

But Kelly knew something was coming. It was inevitable. So she spoke up while she still could to further prevent Jane from screwing them over.

"If you have anything to say, get it out now, please. Because we can't lose this, Jane. We just can't."

"I know," Jane nodded, crossing her legs, then her ankles. "And I don't have anything to say."

"Nothing," Kelly frowned, unconvinced.

"Nope,"

"You're sure?"

"Yes."

No sooner had this been said than the room be graced by the presence of the woman herself, wrapped in a long, gold, silk robe. Her heels were black and the soles, red, indicated Christian Louboutin. Whatever the reason, recreational scolding paid well.

"Miss Eracksonn; good morning."

"Miss Adler," Kelly smiled and straightened. Jane continued playing with the length of her skirt until she was acknowledged.

"And this must be your sister," Irene Adler came to rest in a chair to the left of the sofa, neatly folding one leg over the other.

Jane paused to introduce herself. "Jane," She said. "Nice to meet you."

Irene nodded, putting on an observational expression. "A natural blonde- and platinum, no less. How rare," She turned her head slightly to address Kelly. "And so different from your elder sister."

"Mine is dye," Kelly explained, subconsciously reaching up to tousle her auburn hair.

"Ah," Irene rested a hand against her jaw. "Well I feel that I must reassure you," She switched back to Jane. "The placement of that skin is fine. Leave it be, Miss Erickson."

"Sorry," Jane moved her hands to her lap. "I'm not used to wearing skirts."

"An attitude that will change with time. I'm afraid skirts and dresses are a bit of a necessity for the job I've prepared for you."

"Oh," Jane raised her eyebrows, then lowered them and looked down at her skirt again.

"You seem surprised," Irene observed.

"No, I just thought…" Jane trailed off, searching for an excuse that wasn't offensive. Her search was interrupted by Irene, who had already made the conclusion.

"You thought you'd be working in the bedroom with your sister."

"Won't I?" Jane put on a confused look and let her gaze wander from her sister to her future employer.

"No, I'll only need Kelly for that position. You, however," Irene pointed at Jane and raised an eyebrow. "Will become my assistant. This entails that you accompany me out to meetings with clients and keep track of my appointments…among other things. I've had a folder prepared for you that will go over everything."

"Thank you for that," Jane responded absently. The doorbell rang suddenly, and Irene rose from her chair. That'll be a client. If you would wait here for a moment I'll have Kate escort you out. It's been a pleasure talking with you, and I will be in contact. Good day."

The woman left Kelly and Jane alone in the sitting room. There was a brief pause, then Jane turned to her older sister. "Did you know that I was going to be an assistant?"

"No," Kelly shook her head. "But I suppose it's in your best interest to stay away from what goes on," Kelly jerked her head up, indicating the second floor. "Up there."

"Hm." The door clicked open and a slim girl holding a folder crept in quietly. "Miss Adler has requested I give this to you," She held the folder out to Jane, who stood and took it from her, pressing it to her chest.

"I'll take you both out now. There's a cab waiting for you."

"Thank you," Kelly followed Jane out and into the cab. Kelly gave the cabbie their address and settled into the seat. Jane flipped open the folder and sifted through the papers a little. "This is only gonna be for a little while," Kelly promised. "Just until you can get that novel finished."

"It's alright," Jane replied. The sisters made eye contact and Jane sniffed. "I'm just glad you were able to find these jobs."

"I didn't find them," Kelly murmured, looking out the window. "They sort of found me."

Jane closed the folder and looked at its matte cover. She smiled and swayed in time with the cab as it went over a rough patch. She knew things would be okay. She didn't know how, but she felt optimistic as she lapsed into her inner writer's dialogue.

'_The setting: modern-day London; Late May. A one bedroom flat shared by two sisters, a palatial town house, a cab._

_The characters: Kelly, auburn, brown eyes, strong-willed and professional; Jane, blonde, green eyes, introverted and curious. A businesswoman and a writer, respectively. Irene Adler, dominatrix, employer to Kelly and Jane. Clever and fierce._

_The plot: To be determined…'_

Jane liked the sound of that, even if the words were in her head.

_To be determined…_


	2. Chapter 2

"Miss Adler I've receive a call from your- Oh! I'm sorry, I should have knocked."

Irene stepped into the royal blue wrap dress and held out her hand for Jane to stop.

"No, it's alright, I was just changing. Would you mind helping me with the zipper though?" Jane took a moment to restart her brain and nodded. She set down the planner on Irene's vanity and carefully joined the zipper's sides together, making a conscious effort not to catch skin at all. "What were you saying now?" Irene pulled the top of the strapless dress up a little and picked up an intricate gold necklace.

"Your seven thirty appointment on Friday had asked to reschedule to two weeks from now and move the time to noon. She says that there's an event that's come up unexpectedly."

"Of course," Irene Adler fixed a pair of gold teardrop earrings in her ears and gave her makeup one last look over before turning to her assistant. "What do you think?"

"Your new client will be pleased," Jane smiled and picked up the planner to make the schedule change official.

"I certainly hope so," Jane's employer stepped into a pair of glossy peep-toes. "He's supposed to be a very important man."

"More important than a member of the Royal Family?" Jane murmured, smirking. Irene laughed a little.

"Perhaps."

"Who is he supposed to be again?"

"A consulting criminal."

Kelly sat in a cushioned chair with her face in her hands. A man with glasses sat across from her, tapping a pen methodically against a notebook.

"Could you stop doing that?" Kelly asked quietly. The man stopped and shifted in his chair.

"So when did this depression start?" He asked.

"After I lost my second job. I wasn't putting enough effort into it; wasn't smiling enough."

"What was the job?"

Kelly swiped her tongue over her bottom lip. "I was a flight attendant. The training alone took forever. When I finally started, I had to leave Jane here by herself all the time. She always told me she didn't mind, though."

"And didn't she?" The therapist started to write as he listened to Kelly's response.

"Jane's very...introverted. I think she's scared of the city."

The man's mouth twitched. "How old is Jane?"

"Twenty six," Kelly sighed. "She's a little old for me to be hovering, but I just…I worry sometimes. It's part of the reason I took this new job," The therapist stared pointedly at Kelly. "So I could keep a closer eye on her." He nodded and returned his eyes to the notepad.

"So what is this new job?"

"It's um…an assistant job."

And you're both assistants?"

"Yes."

The therapist reached over and moved the clock so he could see it. "We've got ten minutes left. Is there anything else you want to talk about?"

Kelly tilted her head to the side a little and thought for a moment. "I don't know."

"We…could talk about Jane," He suggested. "If you like."

Kelly nodded. "Okay."

"Whenever you want to start," The therapist flipped the page of the notepad. Kelly frowned at the blank page.

_Hadn't he written on that page? _

She pushed past it and started.

"Jane and I have always been close. We've almost always been in the same school together and our mother wasn't really a prominent figure, so I had to take over as mother. I protected her."

"How did you guys end up here?"

"Our dad died after Jane graduated from high school and it felt like everything in Canada reminded me of him, so we moved."

"Did Jane agree with the move?"

"She was the one that suggested it. She always talks about acoustics and creative feels. I guess London drew her in. She's a writer, by the way."

"You mentioned that. Have either of you ever had any…relationships?"

"I had a couple of boyfriends, if that's what you mean."

"Never Jane?"

"She never showed an interest. Even with friends. Girls welcomed her because she was pretty, but she was always so quiet. She was in a group of friends, but she wasn't _in _a group of friends, if that makes any sense."

"And you?"

"I guess you could say I was popular."

"Did you welcome her into your friend circle?"

"Of course," Kelly said this as if it were obvious. "Whenever I had the chance, I brought her in. My friends certainly loved her. She was sort of a doll for them. She let them do her makeup, play with her hair; whatever they wanted, she was more than happy to oblige."

"Has she always been quiet?"

"Well…"

"Miss Adler," Jane held the door open while her employer stepped out, her heels clacking melodiously on the sidewalk. "How did it go?"

"Fine," Irene replied. Jane shut the town car's door and followed her to the door. "He was more interested in dinner than an appointment."

"Strange,"

"Indeed."

"So what was this…consulting criminal is it?" Irene nodded and Jane continued. "What was this consulting criminal like?"

"Generous, clever, straightforward. He was handsome, though not someone I'd go after personally," Irene reached out and held on to the stairway's banister to take off her heels, sighing audibly as they lay flat on the ground. "Always refreshing. Every time."

"Would you like me to take those?"

"No, it's alright. You can go home if you like. I'll be fine by myself."

"Goodnight, Miss Adler," Jane started toward the entrance.

"Jane?" Jane paused and looked back over her shoulder. "Take tomorrow off. I'll only need your sister tomorrow." Jane felt her stomach drop a little.

"Yes," Jane nodded. "Thank you, Miss Adler."

"Goodnight, Jane." Irene Adler climbed the staircase and was out of sight in moments.

"Goodnight," Jane whispered. A tiny lance of fear dribbled through her veins, making her shiver. She walked out the front door and locked it behind her, then leaned against it for a while and struggled to catch her breath.

_Oh God, _She thought frantically. _Not now. _She closed her eyes and searched for the voice in her head that would silence the upheaval happening in her mind and talk her back into reality. She felt it take hold and listened carefully.

_Breathe. It's just a day off without Kelly. Nothing's going to happen. Distract yourself. Call a cab. _

She started walking, waiting for a black cab to go prowling by. She found one at the end of the street and gave the cabbie her address. Then she sat back and focused on keeping the wild things at bay.

In the driver's seat, the cabbie looked into the rearview mirror.

"You okay, miss?" He asked quietly.

"Fine," She whispered. It was half a response to the cabbie and half a reassurance to herself. She could keep the mask on. She could keep the feelings in until she got home. Jane could keep it in until she reached her laptop, and then throw those feelings into writing. Her drug would chase away the demons. She was sure of it.


	3. Chapter 3

"She started doing this thing when we moved here two years ago," Kelly began. "The first time it happened, I was floored."

"What was it?"

"She would just get…chattery."

"Chattery," He repeated.

"Yeah. I'd come home from working a shift or something and she'd just talk for hours. I couldn't get her to shut up. She'd turn up the music really loud and start dancing; one time she painted a wall. Like, an entire wall with water colors. And the stuff she'd make, it was…it was breathtaking. She would draw entire murals and then I'd wake up the next day and it'd be gone. Then she'd be back to her normal self."

"How many times has this happened?"

"About four times, maybe. I thought maybe she'd taken something, but I never found anything. She'd just get a wild hair, dance, paint a wall, and then she'd go back to being silent and thoughtful. But the happy ones aren't the ones I worry about. I worry about when she gets snarky. Lately it's been all the time."

"How long do these last?"

"I can never tell. Sometimes it'll just be one offensive remark, other times she'll just fire off and lapse into a ranting session. I set up a few job interviews to get her out of the house, get her away from all that writing and that's when they usually come out. She'll piss of the interviewer and they'll send her out."

"What does she write about?"

"I-" Kelly stopped. "I've never asked to see. I always figured she'd show me when she'd finished."

"So you've never seen her work at all."

"No," Kelly shook her head slowly. "I guess not."

The clock next to Kelly's therapist buzzed, indicating that the session was over.

"I suppose our time is up," He pressed a button on the side of the tiny clock. "Would you like to schedule another session?"

"Yes."

Kelly returned home from her shift to find the lights off. Quietly, she closed the door and surveyed the walls, but they were bare. "No paintings," She whispered quietly. Upon peeking into the bedroom, she found Jane hunched into a ball on her bed, silent as death.

_Death…_

Every the paranoid big sister, she crept closer to make sure she was breathing; she was. Kelly hung her bag on her own bed's footboard and slipped off the flats, the corset, the nylons, all in exchange for sweats and a tank top. She crawled into bed and didn't find the tiny cardinal on her wall until morning.

James Moriarty was sitting in a chair. He was thinking. He was still thinking when his phone rang at nine o' clock the next morning. He closed his eyes and let it ring, chasing after the train of thought he'd just had.

_Where did it go?_

_*BaDING* _

A text tone. The consulting criminal lifted his phone and read the message carefully, twice.

_Perhaps I could arrange something. _It said. He typed back, slowly, _I'm free tomorrow night._

A minute passed. Two. Moriarty stared at the phone patiently.

_*BaDING* _

_I'll see what I can arrange._

Jim Moriarty smiled.

Jane and Kelly were on time to work, as was usual. Kelly slipped into a bathroom to change and Jane climbed the stairs and tapped on Irene's door. "Miss Adler?"

"Come in," she answered. Jane twisted the doorknob and froze on the threshold. Before her lay hell. Clothing littered the bed, chairs, and anything that wasn't the ground, which was spattered with heels. Terribly high heels. Jane opened her mouth and tried to produce a word, but failed. Irene materialized from within her closet. "Sorry about all of this. I've been planning."

"For what?" Jane knelt and picked up the nearest shoe, a tan Michael Kors pump, barely worn.

"I need you to cancel today's appointments and reschedule them as you see fit," Irene regarded the heel in Jane's hand and pursed her plum-painted lips. "Not those, dear. You're much to pale for nude."

Jane raised an eyebrow at her boss and her eyes flitted momentarily to the heel. "What?"

"I have a…a friend," she told her. We've recently spoke and he'd like to meet you."

"Me?"

"Yes, he's rather enchanted-if that's even the correct word- by you. He's asked about lunch."

"Today?"

"Tomorrow. Don't worry, I've arranged to have it here so I can keep an eye on you both; he's a bit of a handful."

"When…when did you talk about me with this…friend?"

"A day or so ago," Irene picked up a forest green tunic top, made a face and dropped it. "You'd probably be more comfortable in jeans, wouldn't you?"

"Yeah…I mean, yes," Jane shook her head a little, trying to clear it. "And flats, if it's not too much to ask," her olive eyes swept over the scene in Irene's bedroom. The edges began to cloud and a terrible murmur tugged at her thoughts.

_Oh, Christ…_

"Maybe that blue top on the fainting couch, Miss Adler," She whispered. "excuse me, I'll be back in a moment; I just remembered I forgot my pill this morning."

"Pill? Whatever for?" Irene narrowed her eyes, but her assistant had fled. She turned to the fainting couch behind her and gave the blue blouse Jane had referred to an appraising look. "Perhaps…" She murmured.

Meanwhile, Jane had locked herself in the bathroom down the hall and sank to ground in front of the sink.

_CONTROL IT! _She hissed internally, wrestling with the poisonous bug inside her head as I spat discontenting ideas at the good part of her mind, the uncorrupted part.

_What if you trip? Or throw up or say something idiotic or break something or spit on him? What if he's stuck up or perverted or makes a pass at you?_

"Leave me alone," She whined quietly, pressing her fingertips to her forehead. "Please."

Jane started to shake and fought feebly against the attacker.

_Listen to me instead, _Her conscience soothed. _He could love you. Remember what Irene said? She said he was enchanted by you. He hasn't even met you yet and that deduction has already been made. Whatever you've done must be worth something if someone finds you enchanting._

Jane drew a shaky breath and reached up to grasp the sink's rim. She pulled herself to her feet and righted her blouse, her hair. She turned on the cold water and dabbed a bit on her hairline to seal the monster away. She breathed, centered her calm and dried her hands on the fluffy towel that hung on the wall. She sighed, unlocked the door and returned to Irene's room, leaving behind the invisible torture scene and checking in with reality.

"Sorry, the pill is for anxiety. We were running a touch late this morning and it must have slipped my mind. Thank god I carry an extra in my bag. Now, about those appointments…" She reached for the planner and her phone, then stopped when she realized Irene was staring at her.

"Are you alright, dear?" She asked slowly.

"Of course, Miss Adler. I just panicked a little." Irene's eye flicked to nothing in particular and she nodded once.

"Ah. Alright then." Jane flipped open the planner, fixated on the first number and started to dial.


End file.
